IT Manager of Application Services - Catering Solutions

Aramark•Philadelphia, PA

About The Position

The IT Manager of Application Services – Catering Solutions is responsible for the operational excellence, strategic advancement, and ongoing support of a portfolio of mission-critical catering and hospitality applications. This role leads a team that supports cloud-based, web, mobile, and remotely deployed solutions that enable catering, event-based, and hospitality operations across the organization. This leader partners closely with Lines of Business (LOB) IT leadership, Front Line Service Managers, corporate functions, and third-party providers to ensure applications are reliable, secure, scalable, and aligned to business strategy. The role requires a strong balance of technical leadership, business acumen, people management, and strategic thinking.ROLE DESCRIPTIONApplication Portfolio Scope The portfolio includes catering and event-based hospitality systems that support, but are not limited to: Order entry and customer management Recipe, menu, and product management Event and operations management Billing, escrow, and financial reporting Forecasting, analytics, and metrics CRM, consumer engagement, and experience platforms Integrations supporting inventory, retail merchandise, loyalty programs, procurement, payment services, tax, and treasury This role also oversees application integrations, interfaces, and data exchanges (master, reference, transactional, and metrics data). Due to the nature of our business, the role requires occasional after-hours and weekend support coverage.

Requirements

5+ years of IT leadership and people management experience in a corporate environment
3+ years of product ownership or application leadership for hospitality or retail systems
Proven experience leading large, complex application portfolios and projects
Deep knowledge of IT Service Management (ITSM) and full SDLC
Strong project management, problem-solving, and stakeholder management skills
Ability to balance strategic vision with tactical and operational execution
Proven success partnering with senior leaders, operations, vendors, and global teams
Experience developing application roadmaps with a focus on total cost of ownership and speed to market
Knowledge of food service, hospitality, facilities, or related regulated environments

Responsibilities

Ensure stable, reliable, and secure application services
Lead incident management, root cause analysis, and problem resolution
Drive continuous improvement to reduce operational incidents and cost of poor quality
Maintain monitoring, performance tuning, resiliency, disaster recovery, and business continuity plans
Ensure compliance with architecture, security, regulatory, and software standards
Manage contracts, licenses, audits, vulnerabilities, and application risk
Manage demand intake and prioritization with business partners
Deliver enhancements, configurations, integrations, APIs, and reporting
Adhere to SDLC and quality assurance standards, including testing and user sign-off
Communicate releases and changes through formal release notes
Manage project portfolio to deliver on-time, on-budget, and on-value outcomes
Lead major enhancements, upgrades, re-platforming, and migrations
Oversee patching, service packs, security updates, and application expansions
Maintain project artifacts, governance documentation, and stakeholder communications
Lead application intake and readiness assessments
Identify and remediate transition gaps prior to production support
Develop and maintain operational runbooks
Integrate new applications into existing support frameworks
Define and maintain application roadmaps aligned to business and IT strategy
Manage platform lifecycle, technical debt, and compliance timelines
Collaborate with IT leadership and Enterprise Architecture on solution design
Evaluate emerging technologies and global deployment needs
Lead and develop a high-performing, agile team
Promote standardized processes, tools, and best practices
Optimize productivity through metrics, automation, and technology
Build future leaders through coaching, development, and cross-functional exposure
Manage operating and capital budgets with strong financial controls
Ensure ROI for platform investments with executive sponsorship
Drive year-over-year productivity gains through automation, AI, and sourcing strategies
Manage third-party SLAs and vendor performance